Page 216 - Stati inu obstati, revija za vprašanja protestantizma, letnik XV (2019), številka 30, ISSN 2590-9754
P. 216
povzetki, synopses, ZUSAMMENFASSUNGEN
oboroženih silah že pred letom 1781 več štela vojaška zmožnost in s tem dokazani patri-
otizem kot pa pripadnost neki verski skupnosti.
Tolerance pa ne smemo izenačevati z enakopravnostjo. Evangeličanom (in pravo-
slavnim) še vedno ni bilo dovoljeno javno prakticiranje vere. Zato v vojski tudi ni bilo
institucionalizirane evangeličanske duhovne oskrbe [Seelsorge]. Pogosto menjavanje
garnizonov in velike razdalje do bližnjih cerkvenih občin so duhovno oskrbo evangeli-
čanov še oteževali.
Posledica tega je bila, da je bilo kljub toleranci tudi v vojski svobodno in urejeno
prakticiranje religije za protestante komaj mogoče. Preko zasebnih pobud pa je vendar-
le kmalu nastalo nekaj vojaških evangeličanskih občin, na primer v Pragi pod vplivom
kasnejšega feldmaršala von Wurmserja. Seveda so Tolerančni patent spremljale omeji-
tve, toda v splošnem so se začele stvari obračati na bolje.
Ključne besede: Tolerančni patent, vojaška zgodovina, razsvetljeni absolutizem, ce-
sar Jožef II.
Early Tolerance in Austrian Armed Forces
The Patent of Toleration issued in 1781 by the Emperor Joseph II was partly a result
of positive experience of tolerance already present in the armed forces. In these, limited
tolerance was ordered even before the official tolerance legislation. It was evident in mil-
itary regulations as well as in the conditions for awarding the highest military honour of
the Habsburg Monarchy, the Military Order of Maria Theresa. However, the motive for
this early tolerance was not so much the idea of tolerance itself, but rather a pragmat-
ic attitude focused on military effectiveness, as well as an endeavour to prevent all con-
flicts within the armed forces.
The military was not only a place where minorities such as Protestants or Jews could
be emancipated; it was even a model of the treatment of minority groups’ members. De-
spite the Counter-Reformation and the prohibition of belonging to any other church
except Catholic, a substantial number of members of the Austro-Habsburg armed forc-
es were actually Protestants. The military was also an exemplary model of thinking that
eventually led to the Patent of Toleration.
The motives for the Patent of Toleration can be traced back to the ideas of the En-
lightenment and state utilitarianism. Part of the Enlightenment tradition was also the
fact that within the armed forces, even before 1781, military capability and the patriot-
ism proved by it were considered more important than belonging to a certain religious
community.
Nevertheless, tolerance should not be equated with equal rights. The Protestants
(and the Orthodox) continued to be denied the right to exercise their religious practice
in public. For this reason, there was no institutionalized Protestant pastoral care [Seel-
sorge] in the military. The religious support of the Protestants was additionally hindered
by frequent movements of garrisons and large distances to closest parishes.
214
oboroženih silah že pred letom 1781 več štela vojaška zmožnost in s tem dokazani patri-
otizem kot pa pripadnost neki verski skupnosti.
Tolerance pa ne smemo izenačevati z enakopravnostjo. Evangeličanom (in pravo-
slavnim) še vedno ni bilo dovoljeno javno prakticiranje vere. Zato v vojski tudi ni bilo
institucionalizirane evangeličanske duhovne oskrbe [Seelsorge]. Pogosto menjavanje
garnizonov in velike razdalje do bližnjih cerkvenih občin so duhovno oskrbo evangeli-
čanov še oteževali.
Posledica tega je bila, da je bilo kljub toleranci tudi v vojski svobodno in urejeno
prakticiranje religije za protestante komaj mogoče. Preko zasebnih pobud pa je vendar-
le kmalu nastalo nekaj vojaških evangeličanskih občin, na primer v Pragi pod vplivom
kasnejšega feldmaršala von Wurmserja. Seveda so Tolerančni patent spremljale omeji-
tve, toda v splošnem so se začele stvari obračati na bolje.
Ključne besede: Tolerančni patent, vojaška zgodovina, razsvetljeni absolutizem, ce-
sar Jožef II.
Early Tolerance in Austrian Armed Forces
The Patent of Toleration issued in 1781 by the Emperor Joseph II was partly a result
of positive experience of tolerance already present in the armed forces. In these, limited
tolerance was ordered even before the official tolerance legislation. It was evident in mil-
itary regulations as well as in the conditions for awarding the highest military honour of
the Habsburg Monarchy, the Military Order of Maria Theresa. However, the motive for
this early tolerance was not so much the idea of tolerance itself, but rather a pragmat-
ic attitude focused on military effectiveness, as well as an endeavour to prevent all con-
flicts within the armed forces.
The military was not only a place where minorities such as Protestants or Jews could
be emancipated; it was even a model of the treatment of minority groups’ members. De-
spite the Counter-Reformation and the prohibition of belonging to any other church
except Catholic, a substantial number of members of the Austro-Habsburg armed forc-
es were actually Protestants. The military was also an exemplary model of thinking that
eventually led to the Patent of Toleration.
The motives for the Patent of Toleration can be traced back to the ideas of the En-
lightenment and state utilitarianism. Part of the Enlightenment tradition was also the
fact that within the armed forces, even before 1781, military capability and the patriot-
ism proved by it were considered more important than belonging to a certain religious
community.
Nevertheless, tolerance should not be equated with equal rights. The Protestants
(and the Orthodox) continued to be denied the right to exercise their religious practice
in public. For this reason, there was no institutionalized Protestant pastoral care [Seel-
sorge] in the military. The religious support of the Protestants was additionally hindered
by frequent movements of garrisons and large distances to closest parishes.
214
